


Healthy Competitions

by langit



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, F/F, One Shot, THEY'RE RIVALS, actually i don't even know if there's any plot?, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29706243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/langit/pseuds/langit
Summary: If one had to narrow down what Rosé wants, it’s quite simple really—she wants to be the best. And no one can ever challenge that. Except Denali, of course.
Relationships: Denali Foxx/Rosé
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	Healthy Competitions

**Author's Note:**

> oh god ok hi i wrote this a few weeks ago and i just had to get it out of my system today. consider this the obligatory high school au
> 
> disclaimers !! (1) english is not my first language. don't come for me (2) i haven't written anything like this in a LONG time so Lower Your Expectations

If one had to narrow down what Rosé wants, it’s quite simple really—she wants to be the best. Her own talents and success fuel the pride that tilts her chin up as she confidently struts down the hallway of R. Charles Academy, being perfectly content at the way the sea of students part to make way for her and her two sisters, Lagoona and Jan.

At 16, she knew she was pretty impressive—she is trained theatrically since she was in her diapers, had cameos and roles in stage shows for as long as she could remember, and her academic records were flawless. She was unstoppable. She was on top of her game. She sings, dances, acts, writes, and occasionally take on leadership roles in organizations. It doesn’t matter if people pit her against her own sibling, that’s a given. Outside of that, no one would dare challenge _the_ Rosé.

“Hey loser,” Rosé whipped her head at the sound of that voice. Ah yes. _Except for her._

“Well, Miss Fox, is that how we say good morning now?” She tried to sound intimidating, but a playful smile betrayed her tone. Not that the other girl would ever be intimidated though. Though Denali Fox was shorter than her, their spirits matched equally. Rosé secretly found funny how the two of them looked side by side: her in her signature all-pink ensemble, from her bubblegum-colored hair to the leather jacket over a corset dress; and Denali, who always looked comfortable and casual, today in a grey windbreaker and some jogging pants, her black hair swept to one side. A pretty cute contrast.

“I heard Ms. Visage gave you guys the same physics pop quiz,” Denali raised a brow, and Rosé split from her sisters just to walk along with her, keeping her distance. Most days start with a banter between them. It was catty, unnecessary, and yet, hilarious.

“If you must know, I got perfect marks. _Obviously,_ ” Rosé glanced at her for a split second. “Considering your pride at this hour, I’m guessing you got a pretty close score?”

“Close, yeah,” Denali grinned, showing off her ridiculously deep dimples. “I got perfect marks. And a half.”

Rosé stopped in her tracks. “And a half?”

“Question 17 had two possible solutions. I used both and explained it well. She loved it, of course.”

She scoffed. “Suck up.”

“Mm, it got the job done. Maybe you’re not studying hard enough after all.”

Rosé rolled her eyes. “Whatever makes you feel happy, babe,” she said sarcastically. “Olivia’s holding auditions for their play for the arts festival next Friday. Will I be seeing you there?’

“Obviously. You should congratulate me in advance, miss _Rosie,_ ” Rosé snorted at Denali’s nickname. “I think I see myself as a leading lady.”

“Dream on, Fox,” she replied, before she spots Tina and Kandy leaning against the lockers, probably gossiping. That was her cue to leave. “Now get lost. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Bye, Rosie,” Denali took a left, skipping her way to her classroom as Rosé beelined straight to her friends. She has to admit, she enjoys this morning routine of banters. Not that she’ll say it out loud, but Denali is as much a star as she is—she’s an outstanding athlete with immense dancing ability, a known poet in the literature club, and one of the top students in her year, neck and neck with herself. Ever since they were pitted each other in a debate for one her classes, they’ve made it a habit to try and beat each other in everything they could.

Comparison is the thief of joy, and no one knew it better than Rosé. It was hard enough to be one of three talented sisters, and even harder when people think they could weigh her worth against the other. Yet, with Denali… it was different. It was just the two of them. There was no malice, no ulterior motive, just two competitive people going head-to-head at what they’re good at. It made her feel pumped. Every time she and Denali talked, it’s like the rest of the world can just fall away, and it would just be them, mercilessly teasing and competing with each other.

* * *

Lunch wasn’t the most eventful moment of the day, but at least she gets to unwind before going to gym class next period. Today, she found herself sitting with Tina, Kandy, and Gottmik. As the three talked, she let herself zone out, idly feeding herself and unable to catch anything the group was discussing.

Except she did catch on to something.

“…should’ve seen Denali, girl, she was like, really pissed and out of it…” it was enough to snap her back to reality.

“What?” Rosé blurted out, perhaps a little too rudely, much to the surprise of the group.

“What?” Kandy looked taken aback by the interruption.

“Sorry, I zoned out. What are you guys talking about?” Rosé blinked and shook her head lightly.

“Yeah, we noticed,” Gottmik’s eyes squinted, as if he were analyzing her. “We were just talking about what happened in Kandy’s literature class.”

“She probably only said something ‘cause she heard Denali’s name,” Tina quipped under her breath, but the whole group heard it loud and clear. Gottmik and Kandy looked at each other, a mischievous smile forming in their faces.

“Excuse me?” Rosé sputtered, trying to keep her cool.

“Miss thing, I thought you hated Denali,” Kandy leaned in.

“What? Of course not,” Hate was such a strong word. _Honestly, who could ever hate Denali?_

“Gee, sorry for the wrong impression, it’s not like you insult each other first thing in the morning,” Tina’s sass made Rosé feel uncomfortably warm. No one has ever really talked about her morning tirades, and it felt weird for someone to bring it up.

“Unless all that trash talking is just _hot, sexy_ foreplay,” Gottmik teased, which earned a laugh and a playful shove from Kandy. Rosé felt her stomach churn, her neck and cheeks getting warm.

“Oh my god! shut up,” Kandy cackled. “Is that a thing?”

“Could be,” Tina was laughing along. “What would that be called? A crush? A hate crush?”

Rosé smacked the table. “Stop that,” she hissed, but it didn’t stop the three from laughing.

“Gosh, Rosé, we’re just messing with you,” Kandy said lightly before steering the conversation back on track. “Anyways, yeah, so the whole time, Kahmora was dressed as a tree…”

* * *

Rosé hated this year’s gym class. The teacher was unenthusiastic and deadbeat, only giving them vague instructions with very little supervision. She rolled her eyes at the thought of this disorganized shitshow as she stood with her classmates in the indoor basketball court, waiting for the teacher to get off his phone and give them something. At least a net was set up at the center of the space, so they know there’s something to look forward to.

As she stood at the back of the crowd, her eyes were drawn to a ponytail bouncing in the group. _Denali._ She was next to Kahmora and Lala, chitchatting with them in an excited hushed voice. She made gym class a little less insufferable. Rosé didn’t mean for her eyes to trace Denali’s figure from head to toe, but now that she did, she wondered if all gym clothes were ever as tight and as figure hugging.

Then she remembered what her and the trio talked about during lunchtime. Oh _gosh_.

“Okay, line up kids, we don’t got all day,” the teacher finally called. “We’re playing volleyball. You know the drill—two teams, here and here—” he pointed at two areas opposite to each other, “—then you guys take turns each round. Six at a time please.”

Rosé felt a little panicked. When she saw where Denali and her friends were heading, she scooted to the opposite line. Big mistake. Now she’s in direct eye contact _with_ Denali. And they have to play against each other on the first round.

When the whistle blew, she got into position with her teammates. She wasn’t too bad at volleyball, so she tried to shake her nerves off. It wasn’t like her to feel off at this hour, and not in front of her main competitor. When her eyes focused again, she saw Denali at the back of the formation, holding the ball, smirking at her. The whistle blew again, and Denali threw the ball up in the air and served it.

Rosé willed herself to pull her last remaining braincells together to get her head in the game.

It didn’t take long for her braincells to let her down though.

It happened too fast, but all she could remember is Symone, her teammate, throwing the ball back, before Denali, like the majestic athlete that she is, jumped up near the net and smacked the ball at her direction. She swore she saw the whole thing in slow motion—Denali gliding on air as her ponytail gracefully floated along—before the ball hits Rosé in the face like a 10-wheeler truck on a highway. The impact was so strong that she fell back as soon as the ball made contact, her vision going blank.

The pain didn’t register immediately. She could hear Denali shriek, gasps from around the room. Great. Within 30 seconds of the first game, she already embarrassed herself. Her thighs, ass, and elbows felt sore, while her forehead was burning in pure pain.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Denali was the first face she saw. “Rosé. Are you okay?”

“Take a wild guess, momma,” she didn’t know she had room for sarcasm in such a dazed state.

“I’m taking her to the clinic,” Denali declared before grabbing her arm and looping it around her shoulder, dragging her out of class.

* * *

The nurse said she should be fine. She’ll just have a really shitty day.

Rosé was surprised that she didn’t have any kind of concussion, considering how hard Denali spiked that ball into her skull. With an ice pack on her head and her back on the pillows, she didn’t mind chilling in the clinic at all. Their windows are huge and facing the perfect direction for sunlight. The room was practically golden and glowing from the afternoon light.

“I’m really sorry,” Denali was sitting at the foot of the bed, her face filled with worry.

“No, you’re trying to sabotage me,” Rosé hit back.

“Please, I’m serious. That looked really bad.” Denali scooted closer. Her sympathy was almost too foreign. Too new.

“It isn’t the worst.” She assured her, smiling slightly. “Believe me, one time, I was a stand in for a musical Jan was casted in. When she accidentally pushed me off the stage, I realized why they needed a stand in.”

“Didn’t she almost break Gigi’s arm during the play for arts festival last year?”

Rosé snorted, thinking back to poor when Gigi Goode was sobbing over a huge tear on her pencil skirt when Jan grabbed her a little too hard. “Athletes have really strong grips.” Rosé chuckled softly. “Also, really, I’m fine. Honestly, I really hate the gym teacher this year. There’s not much structure to her curriculum. They’re really letting us run around like dumb kids.”

“I think it’s fun that way,” Denali giggled.

“Please, you think it’s fun now because you’re seeing me injured,”

Denali’s playfulness died down once more. “I’m really, truly sorry. I’ll be careful next time, I promise!”

“Hey,” Rosé placed her free hand on top of Denali’s. “There’s no one I’d rather lose to but you.”

Denali’s eyes darted on her touch, then back to her. A stillness dawned over them, and suddenly, Rosé saw Denali in a whole other light—quite literally, that is. The afternoon sun illuminated her from the back, making her look like she was glowing. Light traced her figure and was caught on each curl on her hair. Her skin was flawless, her expression so soft in the warm overcast. Rosé found herself captivated by the small details: from the tiny stroke of her eyeliner, the mole near her nose, to the pinks in her lips.

Denali was _beautiful._ She always has been.

And Rosé? Well, Rosé was fucked. Tina might be right.

Denali broke the silence with a scoff. “How sweet of you,” she scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out before smiling, her deep dimples framing the curve of her lips.

“Sure. Yeah. I’m always sweet, baby,” it took Rosé every ounce of her being to play it cool and to put as much irony in her tone as possible. It made Denali chuckle though.

“I um… I gotta go. I can’t skip gym really,” Denali stood up. “You’re okay right?”

“Yeah, go,” she waited for Denali to fully exit the room before she let out a long sigh, followed by a groan. _Oh god_. She liked Denali.

* * *

Tuesday morning was definitely different for the pair. All of a sudden, Rosé couldn’t find enough confidence and smugness within herself to actually hurl a snarky remark at Denali. When Denali threw a “Hey loser, how’s your head?” at her, she could only respond with “Fine,” before speed walking to Kandy’s locker.

On Thursday, Denali asked her during gym class genuinely if she was okay. “What are you talking about? I’m great,” Rosé lied through her teeth, before strategically picking her spot in the teams for that hour so she doesn’t have to go head-to-head with Denali.

By the next week, Denali caught on and avoided her as well. No more tirades, no comparing of test scores, no playful banters. Mornings felt cold and quiet. No one waited for Rosé in the halls. No one was there to hear her brag about correct answers and perfect essays. She didn’t want to admit it, but she missed it. She missed Denali.

She cursed herself for not putting any of her acting training to use. She could’ve pretended to be alright. But how could she? Ever since she realized her feelings, she could feel her heart rate go a million miles per hour at the mere sight of her. Her mind goes blank when she has to think of a witty remark to throw back at her. What if she slips up and lets her little mushy feelings be known? How would Denali even react? It’s weird and frustrating. She hates it.

When she told Jan and Lagoona, all they did was laugh at her. “Just tell her,” they said, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. _Ugh_. It’s easy for people to give advice when they’re not in your shoes, and especially if they’re not the one quaking in their boots every time Denali is in the same room.

In fact, maybe this nervousness has taken over her system. Because by Friday, when she saw Denali and Kahmora walking down her direction in the hallway, she ran to the bathroom immediately.

 _Okay, crisis averted._ Rosé sighed. Except the bathroom door opened, and the sound of Denali’s voice made fling herself into a stall, locking herself in as the two occupied the sink area. Rosé prayed they didn’t notice.

“…so you know, I wanna push myself theatrically this year,” Denali’s statement echoed outside her stall. _Oh, that’s right. Today was the day of the auditions._

“You’ll do great!” she could hear Kahmora cheer her on.

“Why don’t you audition with me?”

“Girl, are you kidding? After that tree nightmare last week, I’d rather die,” she laughed. “Rosé’s obviously gonna be there… didn’t you say you wanted to talk to her?”

Rosé felt her heart drop. “…Ugh, whatever. She’s still avoiding me.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know! Do you think she’s mad about the volleyball thing during gym?”

“You took her to the clinic and apologized already, right?”

“Of course I did,” a pause. “Do you think she hates me?”

“You’re too nice to be hated, Nali.”

“I don’t want her to hate me,” Denali’s voice dropped to a low volume. “Is it bad that I kinda miss h—you know, our whole morning ritual thing?”

“Honestly, it sounds like miss thing has her own problems. You can’t worry about it.”

Realization hit Rosé like a cold shower waking her up in the morning. Maybe it’s the lack of interaction, but Denali has never faltered like this. She never heard of her being vulnerable or down. And it was because of _her._ Normally, she’d be smug about it but this was beyond the realm of academics or competition. Rosé made Denali feel bad. She caused her pain.

She was, quite frankly, an asshole. And she had to fix this quick. She has to apologize, start over, and start talking to her again. She shouldn’t have let her feelings get in the way of their friendship or whatever they had.

* * *

The audition was the only time Rosé could think of when she and Denali could cross paths organically. It’s also held after class hours when there are only a few students left. Rosé made sure to be the first to audition, arriving 30 minutes before the line of hopeful thespians formed at the door. Rosé sat on the hallway, observing the line of auditionees, but there was no sign of Denali.

Finally, after an hour, with only a few people left in line, she showed up. She looked good today, with a cute black dress paired with a black cardigan and ankle boots. It looked like she was going to line up, but the minute she saw Rosé, she froze, turned around, and started to walk out of hallway.

Alarm bells went off in Rosé’s head. Suddenly, she was following her, careful to keep a little bit of distance. However, when she found herself outside the school building, Denali marching to the sidewalk, she knew she just had to stop her.

“Denali?” Rosé called out, and she swore she saw her jolt at the sound of her name. Denali turns around silently. “I… I thought you were auditioning.”

Denali looked puzzled, looking around as if to check if Rosé was actually talking to her. “Why are you leaving?” Rosé added.

Denali’s mouth opened before her voice came out. “I… don’t want to do it.”

“Yes you do,” Rosé took a step forward. “Come on, that’s so unlike you.”

“I’m doing you a favor.”

“A favor?” the statement seemed strike something deep within Rosé. She felt the cogs in her brain turn while processing what she said. “Are you insulting me?”

“Excuse me?”

“You think that you quitting is going to help me get the part that I want?” Rosé doesn’t know if she even believes what she’s saying. Maybe it’s from the way they repressed their morning banters. “I’m sorry, are you too good to audition with me now?”

“No!” Denali marched closer, closing the space between them.

“Then why are you leaving? Why are you just throwing this away?” Rosé didn’t mean for her voice to go soft.

Denali bit her bottom lip, shifting her weight from one foot to another, her eyes darting everywhere but Rosé. “You’re avoiding me. I was gonna do it but then I saw you there… and I thought, you know, you’d want your space.”

 _Oh._ “I’m sorry.”

Something snapped within Denali. “Oh, so you admit it. You’re avoiding me.”

Rosé felt warmth rush to her cheeks. “I mean, I-I’m talking to you now,”

“Oh, so _now_ that I’m making an effort to stay away from you, you come running to me,” she felt Denali’s mood escalate, her eyes burning and staring at Rosé now. “Gosh, you’re so frustrating!”

“What do you want me to do?! I said I’m sorry! I’m being nice to you now!”

“Tell me why at least!” Denali’s fist were balled up tightly, brows furrowed and her deep brown eyes interrogated her soul. “I know I wasn’t much of a friend, but we were _something_ , Rosé—and that was enough for me. You can’t just take that away from me. Sometimes, I think about hitting you with a ball in PE again so we can talk in the clinic once more,” Denali laughed humorlessly. “Did I do something wrong? Did—” a sniffle, “—did one of your friends say something bad about me? Am I not… am I not good enough for you anymore?”

Denali’s gaze was fixed to the ground now. “Tell me what I did wrong, Rosé. I… I miss you.”

Denali was breathing heavily, and so was she. She had no idea it ran this deep. Without a word, Rosé enveloped her into a hug. “I’m sorry, baby.”

Denali didn’t answer, but she let her arms wrap around the other girl, holding on tightly.

 _It was now or never_. “I don’t know how to say this without feeling weird,” she muttered, pulling back from the hug. She let her eyes meet hers.

“After we talked in the clinic, I…” the confidence left her body, but she couldn’t stand to see Denali get hurt with her silence again. “…I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I mean I always have, I just realized at that point. How smart and talented and pretty you are. You’re so good to me, and maybe _too_ good. So, when I saw you again, I felt… different.

“So yeah,” Rosé took a deep breath, trying to calm her screaming nerves. “Maybe it _is_ you. Because you haven’t left my mind since that day.”

Denali’s eyes were wide as the moon, and Rosé felt like she was turning red. Suddenly, Denali slowly started laughing. “Oh my god,” she said, “all this time… you’ve been avoiding me… because you had a crush on me?”

Now she was _really_ red. “Shut up, it’s not like that!”

“You made me suffer and worry for weeks all because yo couldn’t stop thinking about me,” Denali playfully shoved her. “You’re an asshole, Rosie.”

“I know,” she didn’t know what else to say. “Look, my point is… just go back there and audition. I hate that you’re throwing away your chances because of me. But hear me out now, I really wanna do this _with you._ I don’t think anything is the same without you near me.”

Denali smiled, her eyes sparkling like it held all the stars in the sky. “I miss you too, loser.”

* * *

Denali ended up the last person in line to audition. Rosé is pretty confident that both of them will get casted no matter what. The two of them stood in the sidewalk, the distance between them a little less now.

“House,” was what Rosé said, casually forgetting how to form complete sentences. “Your house, I mean. Um. Is it near here? It’s getting dark. I can— you know, I can walk you. There. I have time.”

“Oh! Um,” Denali seemed to mirror the same nervousness. “I’m sleeping over at Kahmora’s tonight. She’s gonna pick me up.”

“Cool,” Rosé chuckled away the awkward. “I’m gonna text Lagoona to pick me up.”

“Good idea.”

The sun was setting on the horizon, and with it, shades of purples, pinks, and oranges softly blended together as it prepares to welcome the night sky. And yet, despite this stunning view, Rosé found herself enamored by Denali and only Denali. Would it be weird to reach out and hold her hand? Or tuck the stray curl behind her ear?

“I wanna make it up to you,” Rosé blurted out. “I can buy you pizza. Or we can see a movie.”

Denali raised her brows. “Are you asking me out?’

 _Maybe._ “Oh, don’t flatter yourself. I do feel bad and I wanna make it right. Truly.”

“You’re paying for it, right?”

“Momma, I’m not your sugar mommy. We’re discussing a budget limit.”

She laughed genuinely for the first time in a while. “You know, I kinda like it when you get all flustered.”

“Like I said, don’t flatter yourself.”

“It makes me feel better about you ignoring me.”

“I’m glad my suffering makes you feel better.” Rosé rolled her eyes.

“Oh? I make you _suffer_ now?” Denali smiled. “I didn’t know I had that effect on you.”

“You have no idea.”

It wasn’t long until Kahmora’s car turned up on the sidewalk. The girl looked genuinely surprised when they saw the two of them waiting side by side. She offered a ride, to which Rosé refused.

“I guess I’ll see you around, Rosie.” Denali turned to her, seemingly waiting for a gesture of goodbye. Rosé, not knowing what to do, opened her arms for a hug, to which Denali obliged, melting into her embrace. Rosé hoped her heart didn’t pound too loudly against her ears.

“Bye Denali.”

“Bye.” Denali stood in front of her, looking a bit undecided. Suddenly, she stands on her tippy toes and plants a quick kiss on her cheek, before sprinting to the car and jumping in before Rosé had time to process. “You better take me out soon! You promised!” Denali screamed as the car speeds off into the street, leaving Rosé wide eyed and dazed.

After a few moments of silence, she started laughing to herself. Her fingers traced at where Denali’s lips made contact, memorizing how it felt and how it made her feel. It was like a shock of electricity, bringing her back to life after those two shitty weeks. She felt giddy. Happy, even. Because if one had to narrow down what Rosé wants, it’s quite simple really—it would be Denali.


End file.
